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Television Stations and Air Patrol

A

acheron1982

I know this is radio and not television section but I had a quick question regarding helicopters and television stations. Would the Savannah market be large enough to use helicopters during news casts? I surprised Savannah does not have this yet. Many cities similar in size do use helicopters during breaking news.
 
acheron82 said:
Would the Savannah market be large enough to use helicopters during news casts? I surprised Savannah does not have this yet. Many cities similar in size do use helicopters during breaking news.
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I can't imagine that Savannah is large enough and the traffic spots are pretty much the same day to day except in the case of unusual accidents.

The population of the city of Savannah is 139,491 and the population of the MSA 347,611. What city of similar size has new copters?
 
Nowhere near big enough to support the use of a chopper. I've always seen those as a perk of being in a top 50 market, at least.

G
 
The Savannah market is WAY too small to support a news chopper. I've always viewed those as a perk of a 50+ market (although there are exceptions, of course).

G
 
Chopper-worthy news events happen so rarely in Savannah that no CFO would sign off on leasing one. On those once- or twice-a-year occasions when aerial coverage would be needed, arrangements can quickly be made with a private operator for a ride-along. That is how it has been done in the past here.
 
Witchlover said:
On those once- or twice-a-year occasions when aerial coverage would be needed, arrangements can quickly be made with a private operator for a ride-along. That is how it has been done in the past here.
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WSAV would phone in a favor from MG owned WSPA, as they have done in the past.

G
 
And the occasional ride along is about the way it will probably stay. Even here in Atlanta the chopper is being debated. With an outsourcer, it still costs about $800/hr to operate a chopper, so it REALLY has to be necessary for full-time operation. Some stations are sharing a news chopper and splitting the costs.
 
FloydB said:
And the occasional ride along is about the way it will probably stay. Even here in Atlanta the chopper is being debated. With an outsourcer, it still costs about $800/hr to operate a chopper, so it REALLY has to be necessary for full-time operation. Some stations are sharing a news chopper and splitting the costs.
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Which only makes sense.

But here in Louisville, 3 stations, each, have their own helo. I've never understood how they can afford to keep them. Though they're not flown on a daily basis.
 
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